|
Global
village
 |
| The
England table |
For
the most of the weekend we were by the pool. The sessions were mostly
in Spanish. However in the evening we had a 'global village' where
each country represented had a stand with food, drink, pictures
and anything else related to their country.
At
AIESEC conferences, when there are different nations represented,
there is usually a global village event. When I was in Sweden last
year on a leadership development conference with AIESEC, there were
over 20 nationalities all with their own stand. It was an amazing
collection of people displaying their country's food and drink with
everyone sharing and sampling each others.
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| Fancy
some Marmite? |
This
weekend, although the group was small, it was fun when us UK lot
brought out the Marmite! We watched the locals try it, explaining
they are likely to either love it or hate it. We also supplied some
liquorice and whisky. Novella from Italy and Gregor from Germany
shared some of their culture from their home towns also.
Catching
the sunrise
The
night continued with music and dancing into the early hours. A storm
in the distance cooled the coastal air which was a nice change from
the normal humidity in Barranquilla.
 |
| James
at sunrise |
On
Sunday morning, I woke early at 5.30am to catch the sunrise which
was definitely worth the hour less of sleep I got.
The
rest of the day was spent by the pool again with a mix of Colombians
between sessions in which they were learning about the exchange
programme and what AIESEC does globally.
Dreaded
mosquitoes
In
the evening we returned to Barranquilla. Dan Juliet and I went out
for an Italian meal.
I got
an early night after a mostly sleepless weekend, only to wake in
the night scratching my feet: I had been bitten over 15 times on
both feet, after applying the after-bite spray I forced myself to
go back to sleep. On
Monday morning, going to work was painful. As I walked, it aggravating
the bites. It was only when I sat down that the itching stopped.
The
day went quickly, and before I knew it, the football hour was upon
me. Dan Dos had already arrived as he had agreed to come and play
football with me - he loves to play. I almost backed out as I was
tired and my feet had only got more itchy and worse throughout the
day in the end I decided however to overcome my fear and just go
for it.
Overcoming
fear of football
After
getting changed, we discovered we were playing outside. OK, it's
still at least 30 degrees... With Sonya's support throughout the
day and pitchside, I decided that it really was not that bad and
what was the worst thing that could happen?
 |
| Dan,
Sonya & James after football |
Minutes
into the game, already breathless and dripping with sweat, it only
got easier. Never once calling for the ball, I tried my best and
almost an hour and a half later the game was over.
Although
I did not get any recognition there were a definite few goals where
I had tapped the ball only moments earlier. Had I not been there,
it would have been a different game. I like to think of life being
like that sometimes, each of us playing a part. It is people along
the way, not just the end people who score the goals who can make
all the difference, whatever that may be!
When
it rains, it pours!
Today
there was another downpour. It was only the second downpour I'd
seen here but the saying here is really true: "when it rains,
it pours". Luckily
we were already at university, avoiding the "arroyos"
once again, where the roads turn to rivers.
 |
| Braving
the rain |
To
get to Café du Nord, where we eat lunch, we had to brave
40 metres in the rain. Being resourceful, we picked up some flat-packed
cardboard boxes and headed over. Every few minutes the power went
in the café and it soon began to flood. We couldn't believe
it, water was gushing from under the door! The staff seemed unprepared
but eventually attended to the problem by brushing the water away
in a very uncaring manner.
The
rain subsided before we had to walk back again. There was a mound
of cardboard boxes outside the café. We weren't sure if people
had seen us using them and copied us or that's that they normally
did in that situation. We liked to think our genius had inspired
them!
Work
is consistent and it is sometimes hard to keep focussed. Now we
have our proposal together, it's just a case of emailing companies
and waiting for responses. With less than three weeks left now,
we will visit the pre-schools again before we leave and give feedback
to the foundation and present our analysis recommending further
work.
The
local way of selling
On
the way home today, I noticed a seller get on the bus and climb
over the turnstile barrier to sell sweets. Cleverly, he handed out
sweets first to everyone and then came back to collect either the
uneaten sweets or the money. I thought it is quite a clever idea:
with the sweet in your hand, you're more likely to want to eat it.
Written
by James Eder
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